Shelby and The Shapeshifter's Adventure Against TD
by Sonic the Shapeshifter
Summary: Shelby the Hedgehog and Sonic the Shapeshifter roleplay on neopets. This is our clab story of a roleplay we've done. It's finally here, Shelby! Better late than never.
1. Resurrection of Him

_The Return of His Royal Majesty, Owner of Your Soul, The Tails Doll_

_By Sonic the Shapeshifter & guest star Shelby the Hedgehog!_

_Who were eagerly role playing back and forth one day when they released it back into the world of Mobius…because they were bored. Go figure._

_Anyway, here we go in CHAPTER ONE!!_

"You guys are crazy." Shadow muttered, his eyelids half covering his eyes as he looked at the trio before him disdainfully.

"Aw, c'mon, Shadow! Lighten up, will ya? They're just trying to have fun!" Sonic replied with a goofy grin.

Two girls were fooling around in front of them, in the middle of a meadow. They had both been sent to Mobius by outside forces, and had found each other in the process. Sonic had been traveling with the first girl, a human-turned-hedgehog named Shelby, who had been kidnapped to Mobius under the orders of the nefarious Dr. Robotnik. Shadow knew Shelby well; he considered her like a mother to him.

The other girl was named Carlee, and had been sent to the world of Mobius by a mysterious black hedgehog that resembled Shadow- only with purple crystals growing out of his quills and snakelike eyes. She had been found in a clearing by Shadow, and had stuck with him ever since. Soon after the two had met, they discovered that Carlee's genetics had been altered, and she was a shapeshifter. At first, Shadow wasn't sure what to think about the girl, but he eventually grew fond of her, and a bit overprotective of her, snapping at any male hominid who even dared to look at her.

Presently the two parties found each other, and to Sonic and Shadow's amazement, the two girls KNEW each other back on Earth! As such, they decided to travel along together.

Currently the girls were singing karaoke songs from planet Earth, to Sonic's interest and Shadow's scorn.

"…You can join the fight, for what's right, for what's right, for what's right…" Shelby finished, doing a pose.

Carlee clapped her hands excitedly, bouncing up and down. "I luff that song!" She exclaimed happily, "It's very inspirational, in my opinion."

"Your turn!" Shelby said enthusiastically.

Carlee had had a song in her mind, but now she blanked. Not wanting to look like a fool and have to think for a few minutes, and knowing that even hearing one word or seeing one certain thing would remind her of a song she'd heard, she quickly scanned the premises for something worthy of singing about. She felt the sun beating down on her, making her feel overheated. The sun. That reminded her of a song! Without thinking she burst out, "Can you feel the sunshine? Does it brighten up your day? Don't you feel that sometimes, you just need to run away…"

Sonic and Shadow listened for a few seconds, undaunted, but suddenly Shadow pounced on the girl, forcing her to stop.

"Don't sing that song." He said, his eyes wide.

Sonic immediately ran over and pulled the other hedgehog off. "What's your problem, Shad? Tackling a girl! Besides, I liked the song." Sonic said indignantly, frowning at the imposter-turned-friend below him.

"It's the theme song of…of it…" Shadow responded, his dark black quills appearing to turn gray.

"Well, what is this horrible "It"?" Shelby asked in exasperation.

"You aren't allowed to say its name; it'll come after you if you do!" Shadow responded. He turned his head to look at Carlee, who lay on the ground where she had been tackled, and said, "You of all people should know better."

"I blanked and it was the first song to come to mind. I shouldn't have sung the lyrics, I'm sorry. You're right. I _should_ know not to sing the theme song of the Tails Doll-" Carlee broke off and wheeled around, turning into a pony with butterfly wings and flying away as Shadow wrenched himself free of Sonic's grasp and lunged at the girl again.

"YOU SAID ITS NAME!!" Shadow yelled at Carlee.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO! IT WAS A SLIP OF THE TONGUE!" Carlee yelled back from above, just out of his reach.

Sonic and Shelby watched the two yelling at each other with raised eyebrows.

"This would be funny if it didn't look like Shadow was going to kill Carlee." Sonic remarked.

"What's a Tails Doll?" Shelby asked.

Sonic suddenly looked pale as well. "That's what she said?"

"Yeah." Shelby replied, "What'd you think she said?"

"Gale's Mall." Sonic said. Shelby looked at him oddly. "I thought it was a store on your home planet, sue me." Sonic said, noticing her expression.

"A store that has a theme song? What did you eat for breakfast, froot loops? Because you're sure acting like one." Shelby said.

"What's a froot loop?" Sonic asked.

"A kind of cereal on Earth," Shelby replied, "Now what is this Tails Doll thing?"

"Oh yeah, that thing is powerful, I heard he enslaves anyone he doesn't eat the soul of. There are seven pure souls that could overpower him." Sonic said.

"Pure souls?" Shelby asked.

"Yup, they can defeat him." Sonic replied.

"Carlee told me something about that once, I didn't know what she was talking about because she was telling me how she once played a videogame and a Sonic character that resembled Tails came out and captured her. She said she was trapped in a cage he'd built for weeks before she escaped." Shelby said, "But she'd never tell me the name of her captor."

"Must've been The Doll." Sonic said, not saying its full name, "Luckily, though, contrary to what Shadow thinks, here in Mobius, it resides deep underground, and the only way it could be released is if its full name is said three times. And no one's said its name in years."

"Three times?" Shelby asked, turning slightly pale.

"Yeah, three. Why?" Sonic asked.

"Carlee said it the first time, and then I asked you about it and said the name twice…" Shelby said, "And one plus two equals three…"

"NO! DARN IT, SHELBY!" Sonic clutched at his head and fell to his knees, yelling in anger, "That thing's more powerful than anything we've EVER come up against; stronger than Chaos, stronger than the Biolizard, smarter than Eggman- and YOU helped unleash it onto the world!"

"Yeah?" Shelby replied with a frown, feeling attacked, "Well if you told me what it was the first time I wouldn't have said its name twice!"

Suddenly the two hedgehogs jolted at a yelp just a few meters away. They turned to see Shadow holding a pony with butterfly wings by the tail, attempting to pull it to the ground.

_:Meanwhile, a little while away:_

The earth began to crumble, red light shining up through the cracks. Slowly, evilly, a pair of eyes rose through, and a lure like that of an angler fish bobbed from side to side.

_:Back with your favorite hedgehogs and shapeshifter:_

Carlee could hear evil laughter in the distance. Spooked, she stopped flapping her wings and fell on top of Shadow, turning into a cat and clinging to the hedgehog, shivering.

"I told you not to say his name!" Shadow growled, pulling the shapeshifter off of his head with disdain.

"A warning would suffice next time. Or maybe just plain out telling me what'll happen!" Shelby hissed at the people around her.

"You didn't know?" Shadow asked, looking at the girl he considered family.

"Duh." Shelby said, raising an eyebrow at him.  


"But I thought you knew ALL of the characters that ever EXISTED on this planet!" Shadow said.

"Well, turn's out it's all but one. So sue me." Shelby replied sarcastically.

Sonic pointed in the distance. "Look; something's coming our way!"

Carlee tensed, turning into a dragon lest it be the dreaded evil that could defeat all. Something red appeared over the crest of the hill and came closer, closer, closer…it was Knuckles.

"Knuckles?! Well that was a ripoff!" Shelby said angrily. She looked over at Carlee, who had gone back to her human form, thinking nothing was going to happen after all. "You should make this into a fanfic if we ever get back to Earth."

"Great idea!" Carlee said seriously. Suddenly she took out a pad of paper and a pencil from out of nowhere, beginning to write things down.

As Knuckles came closer, they discovered that he wasn't okay; he was bloodied and bruised, as though he had been in a fight and lost- which didn't happen often to the red echidna. "He's back…he's…coming!" He said when he got to them. Then, with a grunt of pain, he fell over unconscious.

"KNUCKLES!" Sonic yelped, reaching down and grabbing his friendly rival as he fell.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Shadow yelled, grabbing Shelby and Carlee.

"No!" Shelby said, grabbing her hand back.

"We have to go, Shell, there's not enough time!" Sonic hoisted Knuckles over his shoulder and looked at the girl.

"I'll hold him off!" Shelby said, a fire burning in her eyes.

"What? Are you SERIOUS? He'll kill you!" Carlee shrieked at Shelby.

"Besides, if anyone's even a close match for that menace, it would be me or Shadow!" Sonic said, staring at Shelby with his mouth agape.

"It's a flipping doll! What's it gonna do; smile and say 'momma' at me to death? COME ON!!" Shelby replied in exasperation.

"It's no normal doll!" Shadow said, then, taking a gulp of air, he added, "I know… Maria and I once summoned it back on the Ark, accidentally. He claimed he'd get at least one of our souls by the end of the month…and then, two weeks later, when all seemed fine…she was shot by the G.U.N. agents…" Shadow looked as though he could cry.

"I'm strong, Shadow, and I won't give up easily! Besides, it'll buy you guys some time, and don't worry; we'll meet again."

Carlee continued scribbling down everything that was said, copying down the words of Shelby's speech. "This is literary gold." She said.

"Later!" Shadow said, beginning to pull the girl along.

"Be careful Shelby…" Carlee yelled, her voice fading into the distance as Shadow pulled her along.

Suddenly the Tails Doll appeared in a flash of lightning, rising above Shelby. "Are you the one who spoke my name?" It asked in a firm and overbearing voice.

Shelby looked at the doll cynically. THIS was the evil thing that everyone was so afraid of? IT LOOKED CUTE! It wouldn't be hard at all to beat this plushie. "That I am." She said confidently.

The Tails Doll stared into Shelby's eyes, uncertain of this girl. "You are unafraid of me? A brave spirit…" He looked closer, his eyes boring into her skull.

Shelby began to feel pain and she clenched her teeth, clutching her head.

"Oh, so much knowledge, so much useful knowledge I can use…you know the weaknesses and strengths of those who could defeat me…this, this is I can use!" The Tails Doll said.

Suddenly the pressure and pain Shelby had felt in her cranium was lifted, and she couldn't help but admit a sigh of relief. She opened her eyes to see the Tails Doll floating around her.

"Hmm…" The Tails Doll said, perplexing Shelby more, "It is decided."

"Wait-what's decided?" Shelby asked, not liking where the conversation was going.

"You shall be my Queen." The Tails Doll responded.

"Oh-WAIT-WHAT?!" Shelby yelped. She turned, screaming, as the Tails Doll lunged at her.

:Meanwhile:

Carlee furiously scrawled on her pad of paper as Shadow ran along with her, now thrown over the hedgehog's shoulder.

"Would you just drop that and concentrate on getting to safety?!" Shadow growled at the girl angrily.

"Tch. I can't run as fast as you and I'm not doing anything else anyway; why not document what's going on for future reference?" Carlee replied indignantly.

Suddenly they heard a scream coming from the direction they had come from.

"SHELBY! HE'S KILLING HER!" Carlee screeched. Now she threw down the paper and pencil, roaring, "FORGET THIS! I'M GOING BACK TO HELP HER!"

"NO, YOU ARE NOT!" Shadow yelled back in response, "She'll be fine! She said she'd meet up with us later and she will! She wouldn't break a promise like that!" Later, Carlee would wonder whether he was saying that for her benefit or his own.

Sonic, also hearing the scream, really wanted to turn back, but didn't, thinking, _I'll be back for you, Shelby, but first I have to get Knuckles to safety...even if he IS a knucklehead..._

"Shadow, I don't care if I'm putting myself in danger and besides you and Sonic do that on a daily basis!" Carlee growled, struggling against Shadow's grip.

"As one of the seven I am NOT going to let you be captured by that freaky doll again; not only would doing it be endangering your life but the hope for all civilization!" Shadow retorted.

"But if I save Shelby it'll be worth it! If you don't take a risk you don't get a reward!" Carlee replied hotly, "You have three seconds to release me! ONE!"

"Don't be stupid!" Shadow growled, tightening his hold. Suddenly he felt Carlee changing.

"TWO!"

"Don't do this to me!" Shadow yelled, running even faster and tightening his grasp even more as he felt her changing shape.

"THREE!" Carlee turned into a full, dog-sized unicorn, suddenly disappearing.

Shadow's arms, which he'd been applying pressure with to hold Carlee, suddenly slammed against his chest. He stopped, now holding nothing, and yelled angrily, "CARLEEEEEEEEE!"

Back With Shelby

Shelby clawed the ground, the Tails Doll pulling her toward a large fountain that had risen out of the ground. "I am NOT going to be your queen!" She screamed.

"I'm not asking." The Tails Doll replied, steadily dragging the girl-turned-hedgehog towards the fountain, which bubbled with red water.

"Why not BUILD your queen? Why do you need ME?" Shelby shrieked at the Doll, furiously clutching at anything she could grab and trying to kick her feet out of his grip.

"I need your knowledge and wisdom. And that's where _this_ comes in!" The Tails Doll released one of Shelby's feet and brought out a second, female looking doll, "We have to get you out of that awful hedgehog body and into this beautiful fox one; I shall take your soul and place it in this, so that my foes can NEVER defeat me! Now, enough games; INTO THE FOUNTAIN YOU GO!" The Doll yelled, pulling Shelby off of the rock she had found and latched onto in an attempt to escape, and dumping her unceremoniously into the fountain.

"What is it with you villains and stating your plans BEFORE putting them into action? Seriously, you're setting yourself up to fail when you do that."

The Tails Doll turned to see the owner of the voice, shoving Shelby beneath the surface of the oddly colored water. He saw nothing. He looked around, perplexed, and then suddenly heard the beating of wings from above. He looked up in surprise to see a dragon swooping towards him, horns pointed directly at his chest.

Unfazed, the Doll quickly darted to the side. There's one thing everyone knows about speed, especially if you drive a car; when you're going at even just 20 miles per hour, it's impossible to immediately stop. And the dragon was going at about 120 miles per hour.

Carlee saw the Doll move out of the way and could also see that she was going to slam headfirst into a fountain made of rock; knowing that at the speed she was going at she couldn't stop, she instead began shifting direction, trying to pull upward. However, it was too late for it to really do any good, and she still slammed into the fountain of red water with a splash, her horns crunching into the marble and effectively trapping her there.

The pain that accompanied the crash sent swirls of color coursing across Carlee's vision, and she envisioned stars and explosions like that of fireworks, slipping in and out of consciousness every few seconds.

A stitched smile wove itself across the Tails Doll's mouth. "Did you seriously think that would work?" He sneered.

Carlee could barely hear his words; She was still falling unconscious and waking up as the pain pulsed through her body.

Suddenly Shelby, who was gradually feeling numb and beginning to feel weak, feebly kicked at Carlee, splashing the strange wet water at the dragon's face. Carlee, who was going unconscious for the last time, woke up at having the water splashed into her face. She began thrashing around, making water splash out of the fountain and onto the amused doll.

"Two for the price of one, the shapeshifter that once escaped me AND the one I call my bride. This is perfect." He mused, ignoring the wetness that soaked into his felt lining.

Carlee was finding it impossible to get her horns out of the fountain. It seemed as if the stone of the fountain had squeezed around them, trapping them there. She pressed her foreclaws against the rim of the fountain and positioned her back legs against the tub as well, beginning to push as hard as possible to pull her head out of the fountain.

The Tails Doll found her plight entertaining. "Foolish girl." He muttered, chuckling slightly, "You are weak; that is your downfall."

Suddenly a loud crack resounded through the area, and Carlee pulled her head away from the fountain, toppling over backwards with a large piece of black marble stuck on her dragon horns. She fell with her entire weight on the edge of the fountain and smashed through it, the red water flowing out and around the grass, which withered and died from contact with the liquid.

Carlee smacked the back of her head on the ground and the marble cracked, freeing her horns from it. She craned her neck up and looked around for Shelby.

"Shelby, where are you?" She called, widening her eyes.

"Look down." The Tails Doll replied.

Carlee complied with his command, only to find the female hedgehog pinned under her.

"ACK!" She exclaimed, rolling off of the girl.

Shelby was breathing raggedly; she appeared to be unconscious.

"You broke the fountain; but that's no matter," The Tails Doll said, "Her body is drenched in the liquid along with the new body. All I need to do is cast the spell."

He sprinkled some leaves over Shelby's body and over the other doll as Carlee watched in confusion.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm transferring her soul to this body! She won't be able to resist for long." The Tails Doll 

chuckled.

"Not if I can help it!" Carlee snapped. She grabbed Shelby, changing into the form of a winged unicorn and tossing the girl onto her back, keeping her balanced between her fluffy wings so she would be comfortable and wouldn't fall off.

She then ran away from the Doll as fast as her legs could carry her.

The Tails Doll laughed. "This will be amusing." He said, beginning to follow.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sonic and Shadow stood together, looking back where they came concernedly.

"They've been gone a long time… I hope nothing's happened to them." Sonic said.

Shadow didn't respond, staring into the distance mutely.

"C'mon, Shadow, I know you're worried about them…Especially-"

"Sonic, if you don't shut up I am going to hurt you." Shadow snapped.

Sonic grinned.

Shadow noticed Sonic's grin and looked away, feeling angry and slightly embarrassed. "They have been gone a while." He agreed, avoiding Sonic's eyes.

"I'll take Knuckles somewhere where he'll be safe." Sonic said, his grin fading, "You go after them."

"Okay." Shadow replied, and then started running back in the direction they'd come from.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Carlee kept running, her heart pounding against her rib cage. The Tails Doll was slow; VERY slow; anything could outrun it. She knew if she just kept up her gallop she'd be out of its sight in no time.

Even so she looked back, only to find that he was still following. She looked ahead again, keeping up her gait. But when she looked back a moment later he was still the same distance behind her. She increased speed, but still he stayed the same distance away. The third time she glanced back she saw the red anglerfish lure on his head glow.

Carlee suddenly felt very tired. Still she pressed on. The Tails Doll was coming ever closer now; she increased speed. She began to have trouble breathing, lack of air forcing her to slow down her pace. She kept running, running, jogging, jogging, trotting, walking, falling…crawling…

She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Shelby, who had regained consciousness after a few minutes out of the tub, rolled off of Carlee's back limply, still too tired to move.

The Tails Doll caught up then. The closer he came, the brighter the lure glowed, and the worse Carlee felt. He floated around Shelby and the Shapeshifter. He reached toward Carlee, touching her forehead. That was the last thing Carlee saw, the Tails Doll reaching for her. As soon as he touched her, she fainted.

The Tails Doll took back his hand, looking over at Shelby. Roughly he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her up and holding her Bridal Style in his arms.

"The Wedding is soon, my Queen." He cooed.

_Let me go!_ Shelby tried to say, but she was too weak to utter the words. Mentally gasping, she realized that her voice was gone.

The Tails Doll looked back at the unconscious winged unicorn on the ground below him. He shifted his fiancée in his arms and began to reach for her mane, intending the carry her along with him into the portal that had started to appear before him.

"CHAOS SPEAR!!"

Lightning bolts slammed into the ground between the Tails' Doll's hand and Carlee, scarring the ground and sending a cloud of dust into the air.

The Tails Doll looked up with a glare to see Shadow running toward him. He looked down at Carlee.

"I'll get you yet, _pure one_." He said with disdain. Turning, he jumped through the portal with Shelby in his arms.

Shadow skated toward the portal as fast as he could, but it closed before he reached it. He swept his arms through the air where the portal was, growling, but it had completely vanished. He then looked down and fell to one knee, nudging Carlee to see if she'd wake up. She didn't.

Shadow sighed, sitting by Carlee's head and petting her mane, letting the hair sift through his fingers.

"For the purest of the seven souls, you certainly get into a lot of trouble…"


	2. Quest to find The Oracle of Delphius

The Tails Doll stood before another fountain of red water. He was inside of a castle he had created with his godlike powers. The red lure on his head glowed, and the water inside the fountain began shining as well, becoming brighter and brighter, blinding the cloaked minions that stood in the corners of the room, watching.

Then the light died down, and something rose from the water; the female Tails Doll, Shelby.

The stitched mouth of the Tails Doll seemed to curve upward as he looked upon his prisoner.

"Just because I am trapped in this new body does NOT mean I'm going to submit to you!" Shelby tried to say.

"Hello, my master." Her plush body said instead.

"What- I didn't say that!" Shelby shrieked.

Her body said nothing, though.

The Tails Doll smirked. "I have complete control over you now, Shelby. I put thorns inside the stuffing of the doll. All I have to do is ask, and the thorns will research your memory and force you to answer, whether you want to or not. I'm only saying this in case part of you remains conscious within. If not, then you won't mind anyway. Come along, my queen. We have much to do before we are wed…"

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Carlee started to wake up. She felt awful.

"Grah…what happened? I feel like I've got a hangover… and I've never been drunk in my life!" She said, trying to reach up and rub her head, only to find her forelimb wouldn't reach.

"I wasn't there; you tell me." A familiar voice said.

Carlee opened her eyes to see a pair of red shoes in front of her nose. She looked up to see Sonic.

"Sonic?" She started remembering what had occurred and scrambled to get to her feet, "SONIC! Shelby-"

"Easy, easy, you were knocked out, you don't want to get up too fast or you'll hurt yourself." Sonic said, carefully but firmly placing his foot on Carlee's back and pushing her down.

Carlee looked at herself; she was in winged unicorn form, the form she'd been in when she'd last been awake.

Shadow paced the floor in agitation, nearby.

"Sonic, I was running with Shelby on my back, and then something happened and I felt tired and sick, and the closer the Tails Doll came the worse I felt, and finally I just couldn't run any more and I fell, and the last thing I remember is the Doll reaching for me…" Carlee shuddered.

"It's okay, you did your best. And you're safe. We'll figure out a way to find Shelby." Sonic said, taking his foot off Carlee's back and trying to comfort the shaken shapeshifter.

Shadow didn't hear Sonic and Carlee talking; he was too busy thinking about what had happened. He walked over to the window and stood there, looking at the sky outside. _C'mon, Mom, you can't be gone. We'll find a way to save you. But hold on, please, Shell, hold on…_

Carlee adjusted her position on the floor, looking around. "Where are we?" She asked.

"My house. Needed a place to crash. Knux is over there on the couch." Sonic answered.

Carlee looked over and saw Knuckles lying on a towel on the couch. He was bandaged but still looked a little ragged.

"Will he be okay?"

"Fine." Sonic assured her.

Shadow began feeling flashes of fatigue. Suddenly a wave of exhaustion overcame him and he fell back onto the floor, asleep.

Sonic and Carlee looked over at him in surprise. Carlee crawled over to where the hedgehog lay on the floor, as Sonic would've kept her from fully getting up if she'd tried to, and pushed herself under his head so he could use it as a pillow.

Sonic watched Shadow empathetically. "He's been worried sick about you and Shelby. He was the one who found you two; apparently the Tails Doll dragged Shelby through the portal. He would've taken you as well, but Shadow stopped him. He's been brooding ever since. He needs some rest."

Carlee nodded silently, letting Shadow's head fall back into her soft mane. She swished her tail on the floor and waited for Shadow to wake up.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Shadow saw Shelby and the female plush of a Tails Doll floating side by side._

"_Shadow!" Shelby called._

"_Wretch!" The Doll called at the same time._

"_I'm trapped in the doll!" _

"_Leave me be. I'm happy where I am."_

"_The Tails Doll- it put thorns in the Doll. When you see me, what I say isn't really ME saying it, it's the doll!"_

"_I mean every word that I say, and I hate you with the fire of a thousand burning suns."_

"_Help! Save me!"_

"_Leave here, vermin. I don't need you any more."_

"_**Mother!"**_

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Mother!" Shadow snapped awake, jerking up with a start.

He felt something soft under behind him; he looked back to see Carlee lying on the floor looking up at him.

Sonic rushed in. "So, you're up already Shadow?"

"Already?" Shadow questioned.

"You've been asleep for three days." Carlee said.

"WHAT?!" Shadow yelped.

"Just kidding. More like three hours." Carlee said.

Shadow looked at her with an annoyed expression. Carlee grinned at him sheepishly; literally turning into a fluffy lamb.

"I heard yelling?" Sonic said.

"I think… I think Shelby just contacted me in a dream. Said something about thorns; and she's now a doll, and the thorns are controlling her, so what she says isn't really her speaking, it's the thorns using her knowledge to speak to us." Shadow said, rubbing his head.

"Sounds confusing." Carlee remarked.

"You know, I think I remember the Oracle of Delphius once telling me something about adding black thorns to a spell. He said that to do so was to perform the darkest of black magic because it would cause the person you're casting the spell on to turn completely evil and he or she will betray all of those that person cares for." Sonic said thoughtfully.

"Does that mean- is there a cure, a way to reverse the spell?" Carlee asked, returning to her human form and sitting up.

"Well, the Oracle did say something about a very rare flower but I can't remember what it's called. It's supposed to have all the colors of the rainbow on each petal and shine like a star in the night but I can't see how." Sonic replied, "I'll have to think for a while to remember its name."

Carlee blinked. "Do you think he meant an actual flower, or maybe it could be a symbol for something else…like a riddle?"

"Well, you're the 'Master of Riddles' and the 'Queen of Randomness', you tell us!" Shadow responded, looking at her cynically.

"Well, I don't know! What flowers have you got around here, anyway? No; wait, it would have to be a very rare flower." Carlee said, looking away from Shadow's burning eyes.

Shadow saw Carlee's reaction and immediately felt bad. He started to apologize for snapping at her when Sonic suddenly snapped his fingers.

"I remembered something else! I think he also said something about it appearing in a very special place that only appears at night. That's all I can remember at the moment; but it should help somewhat." Sonic said.

"Then there's only one thing we can do; go to the Oracle and get some answers ourselves!" Shadow said, getting up and walking out the door.

"Um… Shadow? Do you even know where he lives?" Sonic called after him, "And you're going the wrong way if you do; he lives in the far north, you're headed south!"

Shadow stopped, embarrassed. Carlee walked out and giggled at her friend. Shadow quickly did an about-face and began walking north heatedly.

"I knew that!" He said in a huff.

"Suuuuuuuuuure you did." Sonic said, laughing when Shadow glared at him in response, "I'll write a note for Knuckles in case he wakes up before we get back, telling him where we've gone and that he can stay if he wants."

Shadow nodded and started north, Carlee at his side.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Tails Doll stood over the fountain of red water. He waved his plush paw over the pool silently, his button eyes seeming to narrow as he watched the figures of a hedgehog and a human girl walking side by side.

"It looks like our little friends are heading for the Oracle. Tell me, my future queen, how do _I_ find the Oracle?" He said, not taking his eyes off the vision in the water.

"If you walk directly off a cliff, you'll be sure to find him!" Shelby hissed.

"You cannot find him, for only those he wishes to find him will succeed. To others, they will just be blind to the entrance." Her body said.

"Hmph. I shall find them easily, despite what you say." The Tails Doll replied.

"I still say jumping off a cliff would be the easiest way." Shelby said.

"I speak only the truth. You will not find the entrance if you seek it, you'll be lost in the snow." Her body spoke.

The Tails Doll growled at this, knowing that his Queen could not be lying. "Will the Oracle help them learn how to defeat me?" He asked.

Shelby remained silent.

"It is possible." Her body supplied.

"Then I must stop them before they get there." The Tails Doll said.

"At this point it would be impossible to reach them- unless some sort of magic was used to tempt them away from their journey." Shelby said, her Body saying it as she thought it. After realizing that the body had used her thoughts against her, she roared in frustration at her slip. The body did not release the roar, however.

"That just might work…" The Tails Doll said thoughtfully. He turned away from the vision in the pool of water and looked at his Queen, his stitched lips curving upward in a smile.

Shelby started yelling at the Tails Doll, but her Body did nothing but smile in response to the Tails Doll's revelation.

"I am going to think about how it should be done for a while. For now, I leave you to prepare for the wedding, my Queen." The Tails Doll said. He then left the room.

The vision in the water began to fade away. The Plush Shelby watched it disappear in the water.

"I hope you guys make it to the Oracle…" Shelby said despairingly.

Her body said nothing, staring into the red water without emotion.


End file.
